MLD Therapist

About Me

I have actively practiced as a Holistic Health Practitioner (HHP) and massage therapist since 1993 with special interest and training in the Vodder method of Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) technique. My experience is with lymphedema disease, edema in general, pre- and post-surgery massage, cosmetic surgery edema and more.
My search for a low or non impact movement modality led me to become a certified trainer in the ﻿﻿GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® I have found it to be a helpful movement modality to stimulate the Lymphatic system and other stagnation out of the body. The Gyrotonic method is the base for movement sessions used at the office. Palliative care is another direction of great interest, as many of my clients are in disease states. My mission is to provide compassionate care and resources for my clients.

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Life is funny thing
I am a Lymphedema therapist living with LE. I became a therapist in 1992 long before any symptoms developed. During my training I became aware of my Grandmothers leg condition, it was primary LE.
About 3 years ago I started to notice changes that I didn't pay much attention to. As we all know LE progresses along if we do nothing. I wish I had listened to my own intuition and started compression earlier. Now, skin changes, pain and the need for compression.
I encourage anyone who is at the first stages of LE to get into compression early to avoid the progression of LE. Many of my clients want to wait until they blow up, DO NOT wait!
Yes it s a hot 110 day in Palm Springs today, yes, I will be in my compression, yes, yes, yes to early compression!

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

By Técnica Gavilán // July 2015
You don't need to be told about the benefits of massage in medicine; the hands are time-honored tools of healing, comfort and cure. Instrument-assisted soft-tissue mobilization, on the other hand, might be a new one to you. Nevertheless, it is a very effective technique, and one you should be familiar with whether you are active, aging or just want to take the best care of your body you can.
If you're thinking about IASTM for the first time, you might be wondering if it's an effective technique in all situations, or if it only works on people who have injuries. In order to answer that question, let's first take a look at what IASTM actually is, how it works, and how the body responds. After that we will take a look at a few of the most common questions regarding the use of IASTM in healing injury.
What is soft tissue?
Soft tissue includes muscles, ligaments, tendons and myofascia, which is also known simply as fascia, and is a tough, dense network of fibers that surrounds your bones and muscles to offer support. These soft tissues cannot be "broken" the way a bone cane, but they can be pulled, strained and sprained, often as a result of vigorous activity. Falls, twists, yanks or repetition can all cause injury to this soft tissue, which must stay in good working order if your body is going to function as it should.
How does IASTM work?
When health care practitioners use their hands to loosen and work on soft tissues, they are not just responding to your assertions of pain. They are also actively feeling for blockages, stiff areas, and injury. The problem is that hands alone often cannot penetrate very deeply, which is where instruments come in. These instruments, which are most useful when made of steel but may also be made of wood, stone, ceramics and other materials, not only help doctors and chiropractors reach deeper areas in the body, they help them feel deeper as well. This greatly increases the effectiveness of treatments like massage.
Working soft tissue helps heal injury by loosening scar tissue or other blocked tissue and increasing blood flow and freedom of movement. After an injury, your body responds by sending white blood cells to the area. While this is a natural and beneficial healing process, it can create increased soreness, stiffness and discomfort that IASTM can help relieve. Since relief of pain also speeds healing, it's doubly helpful.
Must you be injured to benefit?
The short answer is no, you don't need to be injured to benefit from IASTM. By working soft tissues, the instruments used in the process loosen tissues and increase blood flow, which is almost always beneficial to the body, keeping it supple and strong. However, there are two reasons that you probably wouldn't bother to seek treatment unless you were injured.
Reason No. 1: IASTM is not necessarily a gentle process. It is common for the treatment to cause initial soreness and bruising, because the procedure uses firm pressure to release blocked tissue, and is essentially re-injuring tissue to achieve its aims. The injury it causes are mild compared to what it fixes, of course, but if you aren't injured, you might prefer a more gentle technique.
Reason No. 2: If you aren't injured, it may be hard for your doctor or chiropractor to pinpoint where to apply the IASTM. There are two ways a health care practitioner can tell where to use the treatment: by your report of pain, and by feeling the blockage themselves. If you cannot report discomfort and they cannot feel any blockage, the treatment probably won't be that helpful.
That being said, IASTM is very effective, and you shouldn't wait until you have a "major" injury to seek it out. If you have a minor injury you would like worked on, even just some soreness along your spine or in your rotator cuff, say, you will definitely benefit from the process. Don't wait for a true emergency before seeing a doctor or chiropractor.
Can you speed the healing process?
Absolutely you can. When you employ IASTM to heal an injury, you can help the treatment work faster by keeping blood moving in that region. Exercising, stretching and moving around will all help compound the effects of treatment and speed recovery.
The bottom line? IASTM is most beneficial in situations where there is an injury to target. While most people mistakenly believe this means they need a "bad" injury before they can benefit from the process, however, this simply isn't true. Using IASTM can help head off a bad injury, in fact, by catching it in the early stages, so give it a try.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Posted By News On October 22, 2012 - 6:00pm

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Nearly 40 percent of breast cancer survivors suffer
from lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes body limbs to swell
from fluid buildup, as a result of lymph node removal and radiation
therapy. A cure for lymphedema does not exist, so individuals with the
condition must find ways to manage the symptoms throughout their
lifetimes. Now, a team of researchers and clinicians working with a
University of Missouri lymphedema expert has found that full-body
exercise and complete decongestive therapy (CDT) are the best ways for
patients to minimize their symptoms and maintain their quality of life.
"There's a sense of empowerment—of autonomy—that comes from meeting
the challenge of living with lymphedema," said Jane Armer, an MU nursing
professor. "Some breast cancer survivors say that they've become a new
person after cancer because they met a challenge, and they like the
stronger person they've become. The challenge of lymphedema is similar.
It's something that is pervasive in every part of life. It takes problem
solving and persistence to manage the condition without letting it
interfere with their goals."
Armer and her colleagues reviewed published research about lymphedema
self-management in order to determine which practices were most
effective in managing the condition. The researchers found that
full-body exercise, such as weight lifting and stretching, was likely to
be effective in minimizing lymphedema symptoms. In addition, the
researchers concluded that complete decongestive therapy (CDT), a
comprehensive treatment approach that incorporates skin care, exercise,
manual lymphatic drainage and bandaging of swollen limbs, also helps
patients effectively manage the condition.
"Previous research suggests that, the earlier the interventions, the
better the outcomes," Armer said. "If patients can learn how to
successfully manage the condition early on, then they can continue those
processes throughout their lives, and their outcomes will be better
than those of individuals who resist participating in self-care."

Thursday, April 16, 2015

The high-frequency unit is used as one of the final steps of a facial or during a Manual Lymph Drainage session. Depending on how it is used, it can be warming and soothing, or stimulating. It can also deliver a mild antiseptic effect. A high-frequency current is a current that alternates very rapidly – in the range of 100,000 or greater hertz. A high frequency current passes through the body very easily, exciting the water molecules in the body. They begin to vibrate very rapidly, warming the body tissues. The instrument transmits high frequency current that can benefit the skin in many ways: Increases metabolism and Lymphatic movement Produces heat inside the body tissues Stimulates glandular activity Increases the circulation of blood and lymph Aids in elimination and absorption Creates germicidal action – During the direct method, the electrical current generates ozone, which has germicidal properties, helping kill bacteria on the skin. Current can be applied directly to the client’s skin Method: The therapist places the electrode directly on the client’s skin and moves it gently over the skin. High-frequency energy is discharged into the skin at the point of contact. The direct method both warms and stimulates the skin.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

These are Yummy little high protein goodies to boost energy. They travel well and are easy to put together.Your local health food store should have the ingredients.

To make these little goodies just mix all ingredients (except the chocolate bar) and form into small balls. Put in the freezer for about an hour. Melt the chocolate bar in the microwave and dip the balls into the chocolate. Put the balls into the fridge for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. They keep in the fridge very well.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

I recently came across a 2005 article published in "Reviews in Urology," titled Practical Management of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections in Premenopausal Women. The article is a review of past and present treatments for recurrent urinary tract infections, or bladder infections as they are commonly called.

The author, Dr. Nickel, noted that women in the 18th century, who didn't have access to antibiotics of course, were sick for about four weeks, and once they recovered they did not seem to suffer recurrent bladder infections. He asks whether the modern dependence on antibiotics has actually created recurrent UT infections.

Modern treatment for recurrent bladder infections does depend on antibiotics. Women with recurrent infections are prescribed larger doses for a longer time, or they are given refillable prescriptions so they can take a three-day course of antibiotics whenever they feel an infection beginning. Some women are prescribed low doses of antibiotics to take over a long period of time, six months or more.

Of course, antibiotics aren't perfect. Overuse of antibiotics leads to drug-resistant superbugs. Women who take a lot of antibiotics often develop yeast infections, which can be nearly as miserable as a bladder infection. And, Dr. Nickel points out, once a woman quits taking the antibiotics, she goes back to having recurrent bladder infections. For those without prescription insurance, the cost may be too high, also.

So why not suffer through the infection and allow your immune system to defeat the bacteria and develop antibodies so that you will likely not have another infection? Well the obvious answer is that bladder infections are very painful and inconvenient. I imagine most women don't want to suffer the infection that long, even if it could possibly prevent future infections.Another risk of just riding it out is that the infection could travel to the kidneys, and kidney infections are very serious indeed.

But, I wonder whether it might not be wiser to endure the infection, taking a medication that controls the pain and drinking lots of water and cranberry juice. As a person who has suffered in the past from recurrent bladder infections, I think I'm willing to try it. I think anyone who tried would have to have the cooperation of her doctor, who could prescribe the pain medication, and she would have to watch carefully for signs of a kidney infection. Or, have we come to the point where we don't really trust our immune systems any more?

Of course, I'm talking about ordinary bladder infections, usually caused by E. coli from the digestive system. I think more serious problems like kidney infection or interstitial cystitis need more serious treatment. If you are a woman with recurrent UTIs, I'd like to hear from you -- what do you think about the points brought up in this article? The link is here.